GRAPHICALLY-ORIENTED ANALYSIS OF CONTINUOUS BEAMS FOR P-LOADS ON MICROCOMPUTERS. FINAL REPORT

Computer Program B30 performs finite-element simulation of a linearly elastic continuous beam subjected to fixed and movable loads. Enhancements are made to an existing FORTRAN code using currently available hardware and software. The original code runs on a minicomputer with alphanumeric terminals, while the enhanced version runs on a microcomputer with an improved user interface that includes panel-oriented input and extensive use of graphics. Low level assembly language routines are written to provide functions for manipulating screens, and calls to a commercial software package provide functions for graphical capabilities. The existing code is integrated with the new program as subroutines, but no other modifications are made to facilitate avoidance of new error sources. Panel-oriented input eases the user's burden of creating and editing problems. Graphical representation of input data allows error-checking before execution of the code. In addition to the conventional numerical presentation, output data from analysis is also displayed graphically. A menu structure controls access to various capabilities of the software package. FORTRAN 77 is used as the primary language for new code development.